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Focus on farms Ire of Gujjars |
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Unsafe
skies
A
Tribune Debate
Deceptive
abbreviation
News
analysis Two power centres now
in South Africa Delhi Durbar
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Focus on farms PRIME MINISTER Manmohan Singh’s declaration that the focus of the 11th Five Year Plan “is on the most marginalised sections of society” amounts to admitting indirectly that the country’s economic achievements in the post-liberalisation period have not benefited the people in general. Growth alone can no longer be the objective of the planning process, as he pointed out at the National Development Council meeting on Wednesday. All sections of the people can share the fruits of development when agriculture also grows satisfactorily along with industry. This is sadly not happening. The country is still struggling to ensure that agriculture grows at 4 per cent, at least. All the talk of India emerging as an Asian economic giant appears meaningless when we look at the condition in our villages. It is good that there is realisation of the need to shift the focus to the agricultural sector. This will help avert a food crisis because of the foodgrains shortage at the global level and the continuing rise in the prices. A greater stress on agriculture can also make the economy grow faster. It is a matter of concern that India is going to be an importer of “some food items for many years”. Earlier, we had the problem of storing foodgrains, but now we are finding it difficult to enhance the buffer stocks of even wheat and paddy. The area under wheat crop is expected to come down to 27.5 million hectares this season from 28.4 million hectares in 2006-07. The cultivation of pulses and edible oils, too, is not getting the desired attention. There is an urgent need to improve the infrastructure in the rural areas, where the vast majority of Indians still live. If the government can ensure adequate availability of power and better education and health care facilities in the villages, this can help change the situation of lopsided development. This will also lessen the migration of people from the rural areas to the cities and towns, leading to many avoidable problems. The 11th Plan allocation of over 50 per cent gross budgetary support to agriculture, education and health care in the villages deserves appreciation. But the desired results can be achieved only when there is close monitoring at the implementation stage.
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Ire of Gujjars THE Gujjars’ threat to resume their agitation in Rajasthan in support of their demand for the Scheduled Tribe status is a setback for the four-year-old Vasundhara Raje government. This follows the rejection of their demand by the Justice Jasraj Chopra Committee which submitted its report to the government. The committee was appointed in the wake of the Gujjars’ agitation that claimed 26 lives. Even though the government has not made the report public, the state cabinet has decided to forward it to the Centre “as it is” for appropriate action. This may be viewed as the BJP government’s tactic to pass the buck to the Centre. Instead, the Chief Minister should have been bold enough to take a decision on the issue. Though the Chopra report is believed to have maintained that parameters like economic condition, geographic location and self-identification, which were set 60 years back, need to be amended, the Gujjars could not be given ST status on the basis of these parameters. The powerful community of Meenas fears that the ST tag for the Gujjars would eat into their quota cake. Not surprisingly, they had earlier served a warning to the government against giving the ST tag to the Gujjars. The Gujjars constitute 4.76 per cent of the state’s population as against 5 per cent of the Meenas. While the state government has constituted a new sub-committee to work out a special package for the Gujjars, the spat between the BJP and the Congress over the issue is unfortunate. The situation would not have come to this pass had Mrs Vasundhara Raje not promised the ST tag for the Gujjars in the last Assembly elections. She is paying the price now for her polemics. As the situation is likely to hot up, the government would do well to tread with caution. The political parties, too, have a duty not to play upon the emotions of the people and strive to promote peace. Recrudescence of violence will not be in the interest of the people and the state.
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Unsafe skies NOWHERE is our notorious “chalta hai” attitude more visible than in our airports. Such casual negligence is having a pernicious impact on air safety, not to mention day-to-day comfort and convenience of paying passengers. So much for the ‘Air Safety Week’ observed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation last week, with much fanfare, and full-page colour advertisements taken out in major publications. Near air misses take place with frightening regularity, making a mockery of the ministry’s call to “let go of all your worries.” That an “air miss” is a technical term applied to two aircraft coming within a stipulated separation distance, even if there was no chance of a collision, is small comfort. Given the congestion at our airports, and the steadily increasing air traffic, an accident can happen at any time. As the ministry itself avers, air traffic has been growing at a rate of about 40 per cent. But by no means is infrastructure keeping up. The much-touted second runway at Delhi airport is apparently causing as many problems as it was meant to alleviate. Considering that the runways are not parallel and that restrictions exist on flight paths given the high security area in which the airport is situated, proper management of the airways is essential. Air Traffic Control must be optimal. Problems exist at all airports in the world. But it is unforgivable that an India growing at close to double digit figures, with lakhs of crores of investment planned over the next few years, tolerates such atrocious transport infrastructure. We need our airports to be not just functional, as they are now, but models of efficiency, comfort and safety. And in the skies, there can be absolutely no compromise. The money is there, and not just for fancy advertisements. Somebody just needs to take matters in hand.
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The slogan of progress is changing from the full dinner pail to the full garage. — Herbert Hoover
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A Tribune Debate
THE current debate, “Judges vs Judges”, initiated by The Tribune is a sequel to at least three events, though quite independent of each other and yet intertwined, that have happened in quick succession. The first event took place on December 10 when the two-judge Bench of the Supreme Court consisting of Justice A.K. Mathur and Justice Markandey Katju decried the tendency of “judicial activism” betraying “overreach” that was discernible to them in two earlier pronouncements of the apex court itself. Their observations created a rippling effect inasmuch as they dissuaded another Bench of two judges manned by Justice S.B. Sinha and Justice H.S. Bedi to hear a pending PIL on sex workers’ plight and the Delhi High Court a petition on the rehabilitation of beggars and action against a begging racket in the city employing small children. This was indeed the second event following the first one. On December 13 took place the third event when a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan (the other Justices being R.V. Raveendran and J.M. Panchal), brushing aside the observations of the Mathur-Katju Bench, admitted the PIL on the plight of Brindaban widows. The string of three events happened within a couple of days and that to within the precincts of the Supreme Court. This has given the impression that the judges of the apex court are themselves divided on judicial activism, a mechanism that leads judges and the courts away into the realm which is certainly not their under the Constitution. This has created an unprecedented predicament for the common man. If the judges themselves are divided, whom should they turn to find out what is right or wrong? It needs to be appreciated that there is nothing wrong with judicial activism. It is not a new judicial phenomenon. Nor is it alien to the rule of law and constitutionalism. In fact, it is an integral part of the interpretative processes that are inherently creative, and not just merely mechanical. It is this quality of creative interpretation that provides dynamism to our Constitution — the basic document of our polity. Thus, per se, judicial activism is not problematic. The real issue is only about its legitimate limits. The basic design of the Constitution is premised on the principle of separation of powers introducing the system of checks and balances. Conceptually, there is no difficulty in demarcating the respective functional areas of the three principal organs of the State — the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. Functionally, however, in the course of dispensation of justice, at times, situations do arise that require correction of an executive order or removing some legislative lacuna. In such situations sometimes the court may find itself involved in a policy-making decision that partake the character of political decision-making. Of course, such situations require to be handled with utmost care and caution, lest the delicate balance of powers envisaged by the Constitution should be disturbed. A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court in the Prakash Singh case (2006), completely disillusioned with the crime-control situation in the country, issued guidelines that crystallised in the form of a seven-point strategy for securing “an efficient and better criminal justice delivery system” and to be realised within a time-bound framework. In the court’s view this was necessary “for doing complete justice” in the matter before it. Such a measure continues to draw criticism on grounds of unwarranted intrusion into the political arena. However, the Supreme Court’s response is that under Article 142 they have occupied the “space” exclusively reserved for the legislature and the executive, but only for such time till they come and occupy what is legitimately theirs for fulfilling the purposes of the Constitution. Where has the Mathur-Katju Bench faulted? Aren’t the judges entitled to have their own judgement? Aren’t they free to dissent from the holdings of other Benches? They are indeed. However, while doing so in the instant case, they have committed, unwittingly perhaps, an act of judicial impropriety, which is the canon to unify judges and the judiciary. Bearing in mind that they were strongly opposed to the views expressed earlier by the Benches, both equal and greater in strength, they could have appended the note of their disapproval and requested the Chief Justice to constitute a special Constitution Bench to take care of their legitimate concerns. This is the course, for instance, which was followed by the five-judge Constitution Bench that wanted certain misgivings about the basic structural doctrine of the Constitution clarified by the larger Constitution Bench. Accordingly, a nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court in I.R. Coelho case (2007) authoritatively laid down the ambit of the basic structure doctrine through a unanimous judgement. For rendering justice, mere denouncing the “overreach” approach is an awfully inadequate response for suggesting a solution to the problem posed. It is one thing to say that the court cannot arrogate to itself the power of, say, “creation of posts”, but quite another to answer the question, “who will undo the wrong in the case of an executive inaction or arbitrariness and legislative lapses or dysfunction?” This, indeed, is the central issue of the whole debate echoed editorially by The Tribune (December 15). Of course, the burden is to be discharged by the judiciary by still remaining within the confines of the Constitution. This is what the three-judge Bench led by the Chief Justice has done: they examined the PIL relating to the Brindaban widows’ plight de novo and admitted it on its own merit without being bothered by the observations of the Mathur-Katju Bench at this stage with which they were not bound as such. Let this “Judges vs Judges” debate lead the apex court into laying down “the law” under Article 141 of the Constitution, showing how the delicate balance envisaged by our Constitution between the three basic institutions could be maintained. This could easily be done through a constitution Bench in the light of a comprehensive review of the hitherto decided cases, especially the ones that tend to destroy the delicate balance.n The writer is a former Professor and Chairman, Department of Laws, Panjab University, Chandigarh.
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Deceptive abbreviation The
new is ever in search of the old. Now old forms of thoughts are seeking new dimension. They are just like old wine in new bottles. Look what has happened to the abbreviation “I.T.” We of the older generation always considered it as Income Tax, but now it is Information Technology. It has taken me considerable time to adapt myself to this term. The Mall is now a shopping complex, entertainment zone and meeting ground. Earlier it was the best road in a city which would go round the posh areas. It was known as “Thandi Sarak” and one could feel the soul of the city while walking down this road. In my nursery classes I was taught that “cat” means “Billi” and one such cat had even gone to London to look at the Queen! But one fine morning The Tribune revealed that cats are militants-turned-police informers for using them to fight terror. Similarly, the abbreviation F.M. has all these years been Finance Minister of a State and the country. However, it is now “F.M. Radio”. At times abbreviations can be confusing, misleading and even dangerous. While travelling down memory lane I recollect a small incident. We all called him “Dinesh” from many many years. No one was aware of his surname. Once he had suddenly to accompany the minister, being on his personal staff, to Delhi and was due to return the same night. The visit got extended. After two days a lady rang me up, introduced herself as Mrs Malhotra and pointed out that she would wait for the return of the minister for dinner every night but there was no word from Delhi. I was surprised as no such lady existed in the record of acquaintances of the minister and even the “Blue Book” had no mention of it. I was restless throughout the day. Suddenly I thought of Dinesh. Could she be his wife? I dialled his residence telephone number and lo? It was Mrs Malhotra at the other end. Thank God my minister had narrowly escaped from an imaginary romance!! The latest to join this confusion is SMS messages. Here is original text of a message which was to be send through mobile phone: — “Tomorrow you please send SMS before you both go for my birthday. Will call you but don’t wait because I have to drive three of you”. The actual wordings and shape of the transmitted message was — “2 morrow U plz snd SMS B4U U BTH go 4 my Bday Will cal U BT. Dnt wait coz I have 2 drive 3 of U” Isn’t it
massacre?
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News analysis The
daring jailbreak in Dantewada jail in Chhattisgarh, where Naxalites managed to free over a hundred of their comrades, along with a couple of hundred more inmates, underscores the seriousness of the Naxal menace in the country.. In neighbouring Jharkhand, the situation is equally bad, if not worse. Early this year, after a landmine blast in Bokaro masterminded by the Naxals killed 15 Special Task Force (STF) personnel, the former DGP of Jharkhand J. Mohapatra was reported to have expressed his helplessness in preventing such acts by the ultras. “Such incidents in the future cannot be ruled out as the Naxals have planted so many landmines in Jharkhand that even if I use my entire force it will take at least three years to clear the state of landmines”, Mohapatra was quoted as saying following the incident. This admission from Jharkhand’s top cop after the landmine blast in Bokaro perhaps bears testimony to the apprehension already expressed by some quarters as to whether Jharkhand is losing the battle against the Naxals. Thirteen of a total of 29 states of India are now said to be under the radar of the Naxals, along their proverbial “red corridor”, stretching from the Nepal border in North Bengal to Andhra Pradesh. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself has described Naxalism as the biggest threat to the internal security of the country. The civilian killing of 18 people by armed extremists at Giridih in Jharkhand on October 26, including the younger son of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Babulal Marandi, thus only prompted the present Chief Minister Madhu Koda to strongly advocate for a national policy for the 13 Naxal affected states to fight the ultras in a more effective manner. Over 700 people,including about 250 policemen, have lost their lives in Naxal violence in Jharkhand in the last seven years, ever since the state was carved out of Bihar in 2000 by espousing the cause of tribals. Public memory is still fresh about the firepower of the ultras in this tribal state as they had gunned down the sitting Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MP, Sunil Mahato, near Ghatsila in March this year. Besides,in the recent Palamau Lok Sabha by-poll, jailed Naxal leader, Kameshwar Baitha, came second, winning nearly 1.5 lakh votes. This again indicated the clout of the Naxals in this tribal state. He had fought the elections on a BSP ticket. Going by the unabated incidents of extremist violence, there seems to be a lack of political will in fighting Naxalism in Jharkhand. “Naxals seem better organised, better motivated and better led than the police”, sources in the intelligence said. Sources also warned against the apparent inadequate state action that only allowed the Naxals to become stronger. “The Naxals take a cut from all projects and so get stronger in this mineral rich state”, sources said. Naxals in Jharkhand were said to be raising Rs. 230 crore per year through extortions and protection money. A major portion of that money was reportedly being spent to procure arms and ammunitons. This seemingly relates to the administrative failure to crush the Naxals through police and intelligence on the one hand and to isolate them politically from the people in affected areas through proper development measures on the other. As a result,ever since its creation in November 2000, Jharkhand has unfortunately become a “laboratory” for the Naxals – a place for experimenting with the idea of establishing a parallel system of governance. Naxals in the last seven years have successfuly transformed 18 out of the 24 districts in the state into a “guerrilla zone.” They include Garhwa, Palamau, Chatra, Hazaribagh, Giridih, Bokaro, Ranchi, Latehar, Lohardaga, Gumla, Simdega, East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum, Dhanbad, Seraikela-Kharsawan ,Koderma, Dumka, Deogarh, Jamtara and Godda. One of the intersting aspects of the Naxal movement in Jharkhand, unlike 12 other affected states in the country, is that it is not limited to armed operations alone. Its manifestations are also found in a parallel system of governance that cover elected village bodies, Jan Adalats (Kangaroo courts) and a peoples` police. Economic blockades and bandh calls are other examples revealing the helplessness of the state. The People’s Guerrilla Army (PGA) – military wing of the Naxals – is entrusted with enforcing Naxal rule and implementing their
terror plan. Sources claim that the alleged delay in justice from subordinate courts is the most important reason that has resulted in the establishment of a parallel judiciary in Jharkhand. The primary difference between the Naxal Kangaroo courts (Jan Adalats) and the subordinate judiciary is said to be the time and cost factor. While majority of the common folk in this tribal state are not in a position to approach the existing judicial system for justice due to the cost and time factor, the Kangaroo courts, in turn, reach the deprived sections of the society there by taking advantage of this . The Naxals in many parts of Jharkhand are now stated to be the sole arbiters of disputes related to jal (water), joru (wife), and zameen (land). Operation Eagle, Operation X, Operation Shikhar, Operation Hill Top, and Operation Black Thunder are some of the much-hyped offensive measures launched by the police in Jharkhand from time to time in the past against the Naxals. But none of them provided the expected result. The problem perhaps lies somewhere else. It is argued that despite the creation of the state to primarily benefit the tribals, people’s faith in the government is lacking. In context, one could also take note of the biggest ever march by over 25,000 adivasis in Delhi recently demanding their right on land and forests. A large number of participants in the march was from Jharkhand. The increasing influence of Naxals in Jharkhand perhaps thus underlines the need to review the much talked about socio-economic programmes launched since the creation of the state in 2000. The success of the government’s military efforts to combat Naxals to a great extent is said to depend on working out a strategy where tribes are not the victims of alleged police excesses, but partners in the process
of development. There are also disturbing intelligence inputs – much to the dismay of law enforcing agencies – that indicate the growing contacts between the banned ultras and other extremist outfits both inside and outside the country, for supply of arms and other logistic support. This further confirms the gravity of the situation. The logistic and military support extended by the Maoists of Nepal to their Indian counterparts in the past, with a special focus on Bihar and Jharkhand, has been well-established by the intelligence agencies.
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Two power centres now in South Africa
South Africans
are pondering an uncertain future after Jacob Zuma’s victory as leader of the African National Congress effectively created two centres of power, and fertile ground for acrimony with the humiliated President, Thabo Mbeki. Mr Zuma, who months ago survived a rape trial and dismissal as deputy head of state over an arms corruption scandal, staged a dramatic political comeback by garnering 60 per cent of votes from about 4,000 delegates at the party’s conference to assume the leadership of Africa’s political and economic powerhouse, crushing Mr Mbeki. “Zunami Rules”, the newspaper The Sowetan declared yesterday. Mr Mbeki’s term as head of state ends in 2009 but he will now have to be accountable to Mr Zuma for the implementation of fresh ANC policies that are being hammered out by delegates. Analysts fear a paralysis of government as the two men fight for dominance. Although a similar situation occurred when Mr Mbeki took over from Nelson Mandela, there was no fall-out because relations between the two men were cordial. In fact, as Mr Mandela’s deputy, Mr Mbeki was so powerful that he ran day-to-day functions of the government while Mr Mandela travelled the world. Influential South Africans forecast a delicate 18 months until Mr Mbeki’s term ends. “It is going to be a difficult period fraught with all sorts of complications,” said Mr Blade Ndzimande, a key Zuma supporter who is also secretary general of the South African Communist Party, a ruling alliance partner with the ANC. His sentiments were echoed by another powerful Zuma supporter, Zwelinzima Vavi, the secretary general of the nearly two million-strong Congress of South African Trade Unions, which is also part of the tripartite alliance. “One man will have mass power [Mr Zuma] while another will have the power of state institutions [Mr Mbeki],” he said. “The potential for conflict is there and the next 18 months will have to be navigated very carefully.” Many analysts see conflict as being inevitable because of the bitter rivalry between Mr Mbeki and Mr Zuma underscored by their supporters at the conference, and Mr Mbeki’s seemingly ceaseless determination to block Mr Zuma from becoming head of state. One close Mbeki ally told The Independent the President still believed Mr Zuma was, “unfit to lead South Africa”. Mr Zuma still faces the threat of corruption charges against him over kickbacks he allegedly solicited from a French company in the arms deal. But Mr Zuma’s core supporters led by a militant students’ group have since demanded the dropping of all pending charges against him in the wake of his election. Some Zuma supporters have openly threatened to oust Mr Mbeki in a no confidence motion in parliament if he is re-charged. The national prosecuting authority has indicated that it would re-charge Mr Zuma in the new year. There are widespread concerns among South Africans about the policy direction Mr Zuma will take. He has not spelt out his policies, save for vague statements that he would rule collectively and continue with some of Mr Mbeki’s pro-growth economic policies. Mr Mbeki’s camp maintain that Mr Zuma is beholden to his communist supporters and is going to shift economic policy to ultra left positions and cause economic collapse. Although the markets were unperturbed by the Zuma take-over, with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange all-share index inching up by 0.1 per cent by mid-morning yesterday in line with European markets, many South Africans still believe the future remains uncertain. The opposition Democratic Alliance leader, Helen Zille, called Mr Zuma’s election as a “dismal day” for South Africa, adding: “It is an indictment on the ruling party that they could find no better candidate than Jacob Zuma to lead them.” Mr Zuma’s supporters have urged South Africans to forget some of the grotesque statements that lost him support in non-ANC circles during his rape trial. Mr Zuma told a judge before his acquittal that he took a shower as an Aids prevention measure after he had sex with a woman he knew to be HIV-positive. He also said he thought women wearing mini-skirts are issuing an open invitation for sex. One newspaper letter writer said she hoped Mr Zuma’s first act as president if he takes over from Mr Mbeki would not be to ban mini-skirts. By arrangement with
The Independent
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Delhi Durbar Though the perception is that the Panchayati Raj Ministry had dropped its proposal to hold a mahapanchayat of the representatives of panchayati raj institutions in the capital this month, officials concerned say the event has not been cancelled but only deferred to April. The proposal to hold the meeting, in which over one lakh persons were expected to participate, apparently faced resistance from the Delhi government and the Finance Ministry. Though the Panchayati Raj Ministry curtailed its earlier estimates of expenditure and satisfied the Delhi government over the logistical planning needed for the big event, the event never took off. Ministry officials say that the event was initially planned for April but was preponed to December as clouds were hovering over the longevity of the government. It has been reverted to April but its fate is linked to the government’s stability.
Better ties The pinpricks between the Jammu and Kashmir Congress and the PDP notwithstanding, the AICC has given a clear message that it wants the coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir to last its full term. The message, conveyed in the resolution adopted at the AICC session, has led to improvement in ties between the two parties and better communication between the top leaders of the coalition government. While Muzaffar Hussain Baig of the PDP has been reinducted as Deputy Chief Minister, Congressmen are also demanding an expansion of the cabinet. There is a demand from some Congress leaders belonging to the Kashmiri Pandit and Dalit communities for according them representation in the council of ministers.
Free Tamil lunch Journalists in the national capital, who frequent Tamil Nadu Bhavan, had a pleasant surprise the other day. The scribes were offered free lunch and dinner by Tamil Nadu Bhavan authorities and an impressive media centre was created for them. Even as some journalists wondered about this sudden benevolence and some others were discussing, as journalists are wont to do, as to whether the new arrangements will be permanent, a veteran journalist doused the enthusiasm: “Friends, don’t have high hopes...These arrangements will be there only during Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s visit. He is in the capital to attend the National Development Council (NDC) meeting.
Whose bunker? Following the recent statement from the Chief of Army Staff General Deepak Kapoor that troops had been moved from J&K to the China border, the publicity directorate of the army got into action the next day to clarify the statement. The Ministry of External affairs did express its displeasure but what got the publicity directorate in trouble was the explanation about whose bunker the Chinese troops had destroyed along the India-China-Bhutan border. Their laboured explanation was that it was a bunker belonging to Bhutan which had been destroyed but there was no explanation as to whether it was manned by Indian troops and if so, why. Contributed by Prashant Sood, S Satyanarayanan and Girja Shankar Kaura
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